Zoekresultaten

Experiences of self-injury among staff and patients in a forensic psychiatric hospital

Purpose Self-injury is common in forensic psychiatric settings. Recent research offers some insights into the functions and management of self-injurious behaviour but generally focusses on either the experiences of staff or patients. This study aims to explore the experiences of both staff and patients with non-suicidal self-injury in a Dutch forensic psychiatric hospital. Design/methodology/approach In total, 6 patients and 11 staff members were interviewed about the functions they ascribe to self-injurious behaviour, the emotional experience provoked by this behaviour and the management of self-injurious behaviour. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using a thematic analysis. Findings Four main themes resulted from the analysis: functions; emotional distancing; patient needs; and management. Overall, findings illustrate that staff reports limited knowledge of the different functions of self-injury. To circumvent potential automatic stereotypical judgement, staff should proactively engage in conversation about this topic with their patients. In managing self-injurious behaviour, clarity and uniformity among staff members should be promoted, and collaboration between the staff and patients is desirable. Staff recognised the potential benefit of a management guideline. Staff may find detached coping strategies to be effective but should be vigilant to not let this evolve into excessive detachment. Practical implications Increased knowledge and awareness of self-injury functions among staff can allow for better understanding and evaluation of self-injury incidents. Circumvention of automatic, stereotypical judgement of self-injurious behaviour is warranted, and more accessible explanations of the variety of functions of self-injury should be used. More proactive engagement in conversations about functions of self-injury by staff, can facilitate this. Detached coping can help staff to remain resilient in their job, but requires vigilance to prevent this from turning into excessive detachment. Clarity and uniformity among staff when managing self-injury incidents is considered beneficial by both patients and staff. A guideline may facilitate this. When imposing restrictions on patients, staff should strive to establish collaboration with the patient in determining the course of action and ensure the restriction is temporary. Originality/value The impact of self-injurious behaviour on all those involved can be enormous. More research is needed into experiences of both patients and staff members regarding the impact, motivations, precipitants and functions of self-injurious behaviour, and effective treatment of it.

Travel psychology (in Persian)

The section - Travel Psychology - contains 3 chapters. Chapter 1 starts by listing different types of travel constraints facing all citizens. For travelers who negotiate their travel constraints and are able to travel, two seminal models for tourism motivations are reviewed. First, the pull and push factors are mentioned along with examples. In a second model, travel motivations are categorized into traveling to gain something and, travelling to get away from something.After reviewing various travel constraints and motivations, Chapter 1 continues by discussing how travelers’ mood and tendencies at any given time could affect the type of travel destination they pursue – historical vs. natural vs. manmade; warm vs. cold; urban vs. country; crowded vs. quiet; familiar vs. novel vs arousing; and, the type of experiences and activities travelers pursue on their vacation. Also, the relationship between less dynamic personality traits and travel decision-makings are discussed: who to travel with, where to stay, what to do; perceived risks; and information seeking behavior. Chapter 1 ends by discussing how travel service providers could play a significant role in helping customers make more informed and authentic decisions that would eventually feed their psychological needs, wants, and wellbeing. This wellbeing perspective to travel is contrasted with a service quality and money-driven perspective in tourism industry and research. Chapter 2 starts by reviewing the fundamentals of the science of positive psychology, defining wellbeing, happiness, and quality of life, and how tourism could be accounted as one element linked to all the above. A page is dedicated to memorable tourism experiences and its different dimensions such as hedonic and eudaimonic experiences, and how some of these memorable experiences positively impact travelers’ subjective wellbeing. In the core of chapter 2, travelers’ diverse needs are discussed under: (a) physiological needs such as quality and attractive local food and drinks, physical activity, and adequate sleep on vacations; (b) mental needs including topics such as expressing emotions before, during, and after vacation, causes and fluctuations of emotions; mood regulations on vacations; mindfulness; technology use; stress recovery mechanisms during vacations namely relaxation, detachment, control, mastery; and optimal challenge and flow states for individuals and group of travelers; (c) interpersonal needs of the traveler including interaction with host community, service providers, and other travelers, e.g., joint experiences of romantic partners and family members. Throughout chapter 2, how service providers and experience designers could more effectively monitor, identify, and address these physiological, mental, and social needs are thoroughly discussed. Moreover, evidence and research-based travel tips are offered to general travelers for observing, attending to, appreciating, and enhancing positive emotions during the anticipation phase of a vacation, during the actual trip, on the way home, and up to two weeks post-vacation. A small section at the end of Chapter 2 is devoted to the psychology of holidays and staycations for employees with stressful jobs. Chapter 3 discusses how small occasions during vacations can accumulate and sometimes have long-term psychological effects on travelers. This chapter reviews the psychological of souvenirs, savoring, and photography on vacations. It continues by talking about the concepts of self-awareness, learning, growth, meaning and transformation, related to vacations, using examples. Chapter 3 ends by encouraging travel planners and designers to invest in long-term benefits of vacations.This handbook contains a total of 42 chapters on a range of topics aimed at educating employees at tourism service providers in Iran. This book is in press and distribution, and will be the official source for the national exam for the national travel agency certification in Iran. Topics of this book include the following: tour design and operations, travel psychology, air travel, tour marketing, human resource management, accounting, travel technology, travel start-ups, strategic management, and ethics.

Daily work-home interference and fatigue: A diary study on the moderating role of recovery experiences.

Our experiences with experience-based co-design

Emergency care (from ambulance to emergency room) is focused on somatic care: fixing the body. When a patient with mental dysregulation who experiences ‘disproportionate feelings like fear, anger, sadness or confusion, possibly with associated behaviours’ (Van de Glind et al. 2023) does not get appropriate attention, this can result in the disruption of treatment and even psychological trauma upon trauma. To improve the emergency care process, the authors of this paper - health researchers and design researchers engaged in a project based on the experience-based co-design (EBCD) approach (Donetto et al. 2015; Bate and Robert 2007). EBCD is a method used to design better experiences in healthcare settings, in cooperation with (former) patients and healthcare professionals. The process of EBCD involves partnerships between stakeholders and the discovery and sensemaking of experiences through specialized methods to gain an understanding of the interface between user and service, to design new experiences (Bate and Robert 2007, 31). There is, however, an interesting challenge in bringing patients and care professionals together. In emergency care, patients depend greatly on their healthcare providers. The patients in this study had existing mental vulnerabilities and may have been traumatized by previous visits. We needed to enable these stakeholders to be equal partners with ownership and power, one of the characteristics of co-design in EBCD (Donetto et al. 2015). In this paper, we describe how we adapted and applied the EBCD method, with a focus on creating equal partnerships. We also reflect on the extent of our success and the diBiculties we encountered in attaining this objective.

Desires in Palliative Medicine. Five models of the Physician-Patient Interaction on Palliative Treatments Related to Hellenistic Therapies of Desire.

In this paper, we explore the desires that play a role at the palliative stage and relate them to various approaches to patient autonomy. What attitude can physicians and other caregivers take to the desires of patients at the palliative stage? We examine this question by introducing five physicians who are consulted by Jackie, an imaginary patient with metastatic lung carcinoma. By combining the models of the physician-patient relationship developed by Emanuel and Emanuel (1992) and the Hellenistic approaches to desires analyzed by Nussbaum (1994), five different ways of dealing with desires in the context of palliative care are sketched. The story of Jackie shows that desires are to a certain extent responsive to reasoning. In the palliative process, that can be a reason to devote attention to the desires of patients and caregivers and to determine which desires need to be fulfilled, which are less important, and how they are linked to emotions the patient has.

Validity of the Self-Expression and Emotion Regulation in Art Therapy Scale (SERATS)

Background The Self-Expression Emotion Regulation in Art Therapy Scale (SERATS) was developed as art therapy lacked outcome measures that could be used to monitor the specific effects of art therapy. Although the SERATS showed good psychometric properties in earlier studies, it lacked convergent validity and thus construct validity. Method To test the convergent validity of the SERATS correlation was examined with the EES (Emotional Expressivity Scale), Emotion Regulation Strategies for Artistic Creative Activities Scale (ERS-ACA) and Healthy-Unhealthy Music Scale (HUMS). Patients diagnosed with a Personality Disorder, and thus having self-regulation and emotion regulation problems (n = 179) and a healthy student population (n = 53) completed the questionnaires (N = 232). Results The SERATS showed a high reliability and convergent validity in relation to the ERS-ACA approach strategies and self-development strategies in both patients and students and the HUMS healthy scale, in patients. Hence, what the SERATS measures is highly associated with emotion regulation strategies like acceptance, reappraisal, discharge and problem solving and with improving a sense of self including self-identity, increased self-esteem and improved agency as well as the healthy side of art making. Respondents rated the SERATS as relatively easy to complete compared to the other questionnaires. Conclusion The SERATS is a valid, useful and user-friendly tool for monitoring the effect of art therapy that is indicative of making art in a healthy way that serves positive emotion regulation and self-development.